I recently installed Ubuntu 8.10 on my netbook and overall I am very pleased with upgrades, mainly in the availability of better versions software, specifically QuickSynergy, GNOME Do, AWN and Nautilus. I also really love the new administrative utility that allows you to create a USB install disc as opposed to having to burn a CD (this is huge considering the Dell Mini 9 doesn't have a CD drive). Also the screen resolution manager is slowly showing more promise.

However I am completely confused by PulseAudio. It still seems like it is not very well integrated into the desktop. It has been my process for the past two Ubuntu releases to have to disable it to get Skype functioning. Here is the guide I used to disable PulseAudio without destroying my install.

http://idyllictux.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/alsa-instead-of-pulseaudio-for-ubuntu-810-intrepid-a-non-destructive-way/

For reference this is the guide I used to get through the installation. Fortunately pretty much everything works out of the box except detecting the audio driver (thankfully it is a simple fix).

http://www.ubuntumini.com/2008/10/installing-ubuntu-on-dell-inspiron-mini.html

The way I got the Ubuntu 8.10 ISO onto a USB stick for installation was to download and burn the ISO to a CD then I booted into the live CD on my desktop then used the utility under System - Administration - Create a USB startup disk.

Also if you want to upgrade to OpenOffice.org 3.0, check this out.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-To-Install-OpenOffice-org-3-0-in-Ubuntu-8-10-96449.shtml